New newspaper business models - WEF
Niiu, an individualised newspaper in Germany composed of selected pages and sections from other papers, delivered from door-to-door, will be examined when the world's press gathers in India next month for the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009.
The congress, forum and expo, the global summit meetings of the world's press, will be held in Hyderabad, India, from 1 to 3 December. Registration is still open; full details are available at www.wanindia2009.com.
Niiu, launched in Berlin this week, allows subscribers to choose their news sources daily from national, local or international newspapers and internet news sources and blogs. A 24-page personalised paper drawn from those sources appears on the subscriber's doorstep the next morning.
"The main idea was to combine all the varying sources of news and information, because it is normal for young people who have grown up with the internet to have not one source of information but many," Oberhof said.
But why print?
"We asked this target group which is the most comfortable and which is the best distribution channel; is it an e-paper, is it only on mobile, is it printed or online? The feedback was that, for now, paper is still the best distribution channel," Oberhof said.
Oberhof's presentation will focus on the practical issues, from developing software for compiling sources and setting the layout, to arranging digital printing deals, negotiating licensing contracts with news sources, attracting advertisers and working out delivery schedules.
He will speak in a session dedicated to content monetisation, organised by Cases i Associats, one of the main global consultancies for redesigning newspapers and reorganising newsrooms.
Other speakers in the session include: Matt Kelly, associate editor of the Daily Mirror and Mirror.co.uk, which has launched successful stand-alone websites dedicated to football and gossip; Roman Gallo, director for media strategies for PPF in the Czech Republic, which is developing hyperlocal newspapers; and Iñaki Palacios and Francisco Amaral of Cases I Associats.
Full details of the 62nd World Newspaper Congress, 16th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo 2009, the global meetings of the world¹s press organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), can be found at www.wanindia2009.com.
